Slaughtehouse-5 chapter 9

Chapter 9 involves the death of Valencia. In the very beginning of the chapter, Valencia hears of Billy's plane accident. She goes hysterical and speeds her cadillac to the hospital. On the way there, Valencia cannot concentrate on her driving because she is so worried on Billy's condition, that she crashes into another car and leaves the scene of the accident, then she goes the wrong way on the highway, and then crashes into the hospital. This crazy drive resulted in the her death. Coincidentally, both unconscious, Billy and Valencia pass each other in the hospital. One was going in the direction of the operation room, and the other on the way to the recovery room.

While in the recovery room, Billy is put next to a man recovering from a skiing accident who also was an air- force historian. He is writing a book about World War 2 and it contains a part in which the destruction of Dresden took place. Billy overhears him talking about the facts he was going to put in his book about what happened in Dresden, and he tells him that he was there for the whole thing and knows exactly what happened. Because of the injury Billy had on his head, the historian thought he was crazy and did not want to believe what Billy was saying. He quizzed him about Dresden for a while and then Billy was taken home by his daughter. He, knowing and wanting to reveal the truth about Dresden, escapes to New York and and sees many works involving Montana. He then time travels to the time where Montana is breast feeding their baby and reveal that she knows when Billy has been time traveling. This astonishes Billy, and even more so, the locket on her neck with the same serenity prayer as the one in his office astonishes him.

Again Vonnegut shows how Billy's mind has changed with the war. He shows the dangers war can have and he makes his negative opinion of war very clear.